


I Follow You

by siemprefangirling_nuncaunfangirling



Category: SKAM (Spain), SKAM (TV) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hogwarts, M/M, Triwizard Tournament, misteries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2020-07-28 19:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20069662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siemprefangirling_nuncaunfangirling/pseuds/siemprefangirling_nuncaunfangirling
Summary: Basically a Hogwarts AU Croana Fic





	1. Prologue

"Criiiiis! Criiiis! Cris, for Merlin's sakes, wake up!"

"Eva, just chill out! It's Saturday!"

"Yeah, it is, but they're coming!"

"Who's coming?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, the people from Ilvermorny and Castelobruxo! How can't you remember?"

"Ok ok, five more minutes!"

"I can't with you, Cristina Soto! You flew all the way here from Spain to just sleep! I'm going with the girls in the Hall, we'll wait for you there."

"Ok, see you later Ev!"

The blonde was not an early-person, especially on no-school days, such as Saturdays, but the idea of new people coming from other countries pushed her out of bed (_Finally we can speak Spanish without being seen as the asocial people of the school!_ \- she thought, a bitter smile on her lips). Cris wasn't asocial. She was a party animal, she loved a good laugh and a good drink on a Saturday night… or every other day of the week, actually. But she and the other "Spaniard" had been ignored since their arrival in Hogwarts. All those countries, where Which Hunting and the Inquisition had been strong, like Spain, Italy or Germany had no School of Magic, because witches and wizards had been eliminated or had fled to more enlighted or sure countries, such as France or England. Magic in Spain had reappeared in the last years of the 20th century, with the rise of Globalization. This is why Spanish children received their letters at 14 (they could choose between Beauxbatons and Hogwarts, and Cris had chosen Hogwarts because _Wow, England seems cool! _and because her brother Dani was there to play Quidditch), because the Magic Community wasn't well organized yet. And this is why Cris and her friends weren't well seen by their colleagues: too "old" for the freshmen and considered "freshmen" by their peers. Fortunately, she had found wonderful friends: Amira, her best friend, from Madrid as she was, Viri, Nora and Eva with her boyfriend Jorge, who tagged along with his friends Hugo, Dilan, and Lucas.

She wore her Gryffindor robe and joined her friends in the Hall, where they had their own place at the long table. They were lucky nobody cared about which House they belonged (_After the Great Battle of Hogwarts, we value unity more than the Houses!_ \- said professor Longbottom), so they were talking animatedly about what would come - "I can't wait to see our guests, if the Americans are like the actors on tv, we'll have some material, girls!" - said Viri, dopey smile plastered on her face.

"You better find someone you like, Elvira Goméz, so you can get Alejandro out of your head" - whispered Nora.

"Oh, _callà, paso de él_!" - Viri blushed.

"That's for sure, darling" - said Cris, smirking.

They were cut off by the opening of the Hall front door and Principal McGonagall's voice announcing - "My dear students, I'm honored to present you your colleagues from Beauxbatons and Castelobruxo! I hope you welcome them like polite people, and not like a…"

"Babbling bumbling band of baboons…" - answered the students in unison, laughing.

From that moment on, Cris was sucked in a vortex of food, drinks, music, popular dances, meetings, laughter, the welcome party going on until night.

"Girls, I'm going out smoking, see you later!"

She went out, by the lake, stopping to seat under the oak and looking for the herbs to roll a cigarette - "_Jodér_. I left the herbs in my room!"

"Hey there, got a lighter?"

Cris startled and spun around to face a brunette with blue-dyed locks - "Creepy much? You spooked me!"

The brunette laughed and sit next to Cris - "I'm sorry."

"Who are you?"

"My fault... I'm Joana."

"I'm Cris… You're a freshman?"

"No, I'm 17, but I came here this year."

"_Bueno_, don't know where you come from, but you're in a magical castle, you can light the fire in the school with magic."

The brunette chuckled - "Yes, but I prefer the old, no-mag way. Lighters are cool, above all clippers."

They settled in comfortable silence, while Joana takes her wand to make some herb grow on the grass - "Here you have some herb…"

"What the… How?"

Joana winked at her - "I would lose my air of mistery if I told you… and I should kill you."

Cris chuckled and made a magical joint, which then lighted, lighting Joana's too.

Once again, there was silence between the two of them, but Cris didn't mind while smoking that cigarette, which tasted so weird.

"I should get going, my friends must be waiting for me..."

"Don't worry, I'll just end this and go to sleep."

"Thanks for the herbs, Joana."

"Thanks for the magic lighter, Cris".

The blonde smiles when the brunette put the words _magic lighter _in quotes - "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Cris."


	2. The Triwizard Tournament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McGonagall presents the Triwizard Tournament and the Goblet of Fire, while Cris is someway drawn to the mysterious girl with purple locks and enigmatic look...

When Cris came back to her place next to Amira, the party was coming to an end, with professor McGonagall using the _Sonurus _spell to call for the attention of the students.

"Now, I'd like you to pay attention to me. As you all know, your colleagues from Castelobruxo and Ilvermorny are here for a reason: the Triwizard Tournament. For the ones who do not know what this particular event is, I'll briefly explain it. The Tournament consists of three really difficult tasks and, as the name says just three wizards can take part in it, one from each school. This is the first time ever that the three schools are not only Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, because the Magic International Council, together with the principals of all the Wizarding Schools of the World, decided to alternate the participant and the host country once every five years. How can you participate? The Goblet of Fire will choose you, but mind my words, the tasks are hard, both physically and mentally, and they can lead to serious consequences for the Champions, so whoever chooses to put their name into the Goblet must think about it more than twice and absolutely be of age, we won't allow more cheating as in 1994, when Harry Potter became the fourth Champion at the age of 14, stuck in a trap by Lord Voldemort and his Death-Eaters. Now, I think I said all I had to. Wish you all the luck, let the Triwizard Tournament begin!"

The crowd cheered for Hogwarts' Headmistress and started to chant joyfully the songs of their own schools. The music started again and the students danced together and Cris joined the Hufflepuff table to ask Dani for some tobacco and herbs to roll a joint.

"_Hermanito_, you know you're my favorite brother?"

"Cris, what do you want?"

"Can't say to my brother he's my favorite?" - she said, batting her eyes.

"Criiiiis!"

"Okay, okay. Could you lend me some herbs and tobacco? I've forgotten mine in my room... Pretty pleeeeease" - she pouted, something her brother could never say no.

"Sure, you can find them in my cloak, over there" - he pointed to the bench, where he had left the cloak.

"Love you broooo" - she slurred, a bit drunk from all the drinks the foreign students.

"Love you too, sis." - she kissed him on the cheek and began to walk to the pointed bench - "Criiiis!"

"What?"

"Stop drinking, okay?"

"Can't promise, dude."

He shook his head and went back to speak with his friends and guys from the other schools.

Cris found Dani's cloak, with its Prefect badge and crouched to search in his pockets, but she found a green packet on the floor nearby.

"_Hermanito_, you would lose your head if it wasn't tied to your neck. Lucky for you, I was here to find your herbs and not some other tobacco thief."

She took the packet and noticed the strange color of the herbs, it was a dark green, different from the light green/yellow she used to smoke. She shrugged and called for his best male friend, Lucas.

"Luquitaaaaa! Look what I've found in my brother's cloak! Let's try it!"

"_Vaya, tìa_, you don't even know what it is!"

"It's my brother's, can't be that bad!"

"Seems fair. Let's go outside."

They were soon outside, once again by the lake. Cris was trying to roll their joints, but she couldn't for the life of her achieve it, the texture too tick. 

"You can't roll that weed without a grinder, blondie..."

Both of them startled, a dark-skinned guy smirking at them - "Sorry to scare you, guys. It's just, good quality stuff you have there".

"What?" - asked Cris, still trying to roll the joint...

"Sorry, that's just unkind from me. I'm Eloy, from Castelobruxo. I think this special herb comes from Colombia and it is called Cannabis, but we like to call it weed. Can I?" - the curly, dark-haired boy extended his hand to take the material in Cris' hand.

Cris shrugged and gave him her stuff - "Thanks for your help, Eloy. I'm Cris and this is my best friend Lucas".

"Nice to meet you, guys. Now, let me show you how we do this."

He took a rounded object from his cloak, opened it and put the weed in it, then closed the box and started grinding the two parts between them. When he opened it, the weed was minced, ready to be put in a joint - "Here you have. Now you can roll your joint." - he offered, with a smile.

"What was that?"

"This is a grinder. I'm from Uruguay and where I live, there's no guy walking without this magic box."

"Thank you, I'd buy it, but this isn't even my herbs, they're my brother's."

"Your brother has good taste, Cris."

She chuckled and lighted the joint, but immediately spit out, struck by the strength of the weed.

"Cris? Cris are you okay?" - asked Lucas, worried.

Eloy laughed - "Woah woah, easy there, young lady." - he patted her back - "You're not used to it, you should take it easy."

Cris giggled again, somewhat easy-minded - "Would you like to show me?"

"With pleasure." - he winked, taking the joint and slowly took a poof from it. The smell was strong in Cris' nostrils when Eloy breathed out the smoke - "Here. You just inhale it slowly, relax and let it flow in your system. I'm sure you'll like it."

Suddenly, noises of a fight came from the castle and Lucas and Cris ran towards it, leaving Eloy grinning wickedly - "Oh cutie, I don't think the weed was your brother's. I wouldn't like to be in your shoes when the owner finds out you took it."

When Cris and Lucas entered the Hall, suddenly Eva was next to them - "Cris, _jodér_, there's a guy from Castelobruxo freaking out about some _weed_, whatever it is, and someone said him you took it! _Tìa_, what's this about?"

"_Jo_... This is insane, it was in my brother's cloak!" - they approached Dani - "Dani! Bro, I took your weed, here you have it!"

"Weed? Cris what are you talking about? I'm not into drugs!"

Cris tasted her pockets to retrieve the green packet, but didn't find it - "What? Dani are you kidding me?"

"Do I have the face of someone mocking you? What have you done?"

"_Hostìa__!_"

A guy approached them - "Where's my weed, _menina_?"*

"What? I don't know what are you talking about!"

"Don't lie to me! They saw you taking it. Just give it to me and I won't jinx you!"

"I don't have any weed, _tìo_."

"If you don't give it back, I will take it personally!" - he tried to take the wand from his cloak, but Dani put his body between them and another guy gripped his wrist to stop him.

"Stop, she said she doesn't have it!"

"Who the fuck are you? Let me take care of this!" 

"Just leave her alone. It was me."

"You? Just give it to me, _cabrão!_"**

"I don't have it now, but just calm down!"

Dani decided to help the poor guy and pushed the threatening guy away - "Leave!"

The banter was cut off by the whispers coming from the part of the Hall where the Goblet was lighted. Dani and Cris' defender took advantage of that to push the guy away and calm him down... by hook or by crook.

The source for the whispers was a girl, putting her name in the Goblet of Fire. When she turned around to go back to the dormitories, Cris recognized her: it was the mysterious girl she talked with some hour before, Joana. The two girls locked eyes for some brief second, then the purple-dyed girl looked away and disappeared behind the door of the Hall.

*_little girl_

*_asshole_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... this is officially Chapter 1. I have the main points of the plot covered, I have just to create the background stories and some situation. Hope you like it. What do you think about our heroes in Hogwarts?


	3. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cris has to face her brother's scolding and the consequences of her actions...

Post-party Sunday mornings only meant one thing to Cris - "_Maldita resaca!_" - she exclaimed when she opened her eyes to the sun entering through the heavy curtains of the dorm - "God, I swear I'll never drink like that, ever again..."

"Yes, you said that two weekends ago... and the previous one." - chuckled Eva, munching a muffin.

"How come you're not as wasted as me? God, you even outdrank Alejandro, Cristian, and their group."

"That, my dear, is because I didn't smoke the exotic herbs found in the cloak of a Brazilian junkie." 

"Fuck, I told you, I thought it was my brother's!"

"Yeah, it's a pity that the guy didn't think the same as you. Your brother and the other guy, Rubén, had to use _pietrifictus totalus _to calm him down. _Vaya noche, tia! _Dani looked really pissed."

"Don't worry, Amira will talk to him and it'll be okay."

"Yes, about that... I don't think Amira will do it. If I were you, I wouldn't joke with her about yesterday. Man, she was furious."

"_Joder_, I don't need her to mother me."

"Well Cris, she wasn't wrong. That guy, Rubén, didn't look well, he had his cheek swollen."

"Eva!"

"What? I just tell you what I saw." - the two heard a knock - "Yes?"

The voice of a boy came from outside the door - "Can I come in? Are you dressed?"

"Yes, come!"

Dani's face appeared through the threshold - "Good morning girls."

"Good morning Dani" - answered Eva, finishing her muffin - "I'll head to the Hall, Lucas is waiting for me... See you later, _rubia_."

"See you later, Ev."

Dani smiled at Eva and waited a few seconds before speaking - "So... how you feel?"

"It's okay Dani, wasted as always..."

"Yeah, well, this means you'll understand what I want to tell you."

"What?"

"You're a child, Cris. You are irresponsible, how could you take drugs!"

"But I thought they were yours!"

"Have you ever seen me on drugs? Are you crazy? And even if the weed had been mine, didn't you think it could be dangerous to smoke something you've never seen?"

"What can I say, I trust you, bro." - she said, trying to lighten the mood.

Dani shook his head, incredulous - "You know what? Mom and dad are right, I should keep my eyes on you, Hell, two aren't enough, I should keep a thousand pair of eyes on you, Cristina. You know what I and Rubén had to do to stop him? You know what I had to do to persuade Mrs. McGonagall not to write a letter to mom and dad and not suspend you? No? _Claro,_ you don't know because you don't care about anyone who isn't you."

"Dani..."

"Let me finish." - he stopped her, brows crinkled - "First thing, you'll thank Rubén, he doesn't even know you and we barely talked for an hour, yet he helped me. Second, you'll help Madam Pomfrey in the infirmary for a month, every day after your classes. Last thing, to assure McGonagall you won't have more time to cause trouble, you'll have one extra class to attend, you can choose between _Advanced __Muggle Studies _and _Ancient Runes_."

"But Dani!"

"It's that or McGonagall's punishment, your choice, _hermanita_"

"Stop treating me like a child."

"Stop acting like one, Cristina." - he opened the door and looked back at her - "I invited Rubén to play Quidditch in the afternoon, you'll find him there. Chau."

Cris huffed and started dressing, thinking about the evening she had just lived and that strange feeling she felt when Joana had smiled at her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the chapter is really short, I had in mind another scene to write, but when I wrote the last line, I felt like it was a good conclusive sentence. Moreover, keeping on reading you'll find a turning point for the story in these few lines (*suspance*). I'll write the next chapter longer, promised. Hope you liked it.


	4. Date in Hogsmeade

That afternoon, Cris went to the Quidditch court to join her brother and Rubén, so she could say him she was sorry. She shouldn't have taken Eva with her, though.

"Aww, look at him, he smiled at you!"

"Eva, knock it off! You're being ridiculous."

"But Cris, are you blind? You should clean your lenses. He can't stop looking at you, he practically almost had his head it by the quaffle two minutes ago."

Cris huffed - "Don't you have somewhere else to be? I don't know, doing Jorge?"

Eva chuckled and shrugged - "Unfortunately, I'm on my period, so it's a no-go. Good try."

"Goddammit."

Eva chuckled and got up when the guys got down on the ground - "Let's go, I wanna tell Dani if he wants to hang out with me and Amira, maybe I'll make two friends score this afternoon."

"Won't you stop trying to play Cupid? Those two are not going to be together if no one takes the first step. I should know, they're my brother and my best friend."

"Stop it, you grumpy cat. You're worse than a spinster. Let's see if Rubén sweetens you." - the brunette winked and Cris shook her head - "Come on, let's go."

The two girls went to the exit and waited for Dani and his new friend.

"Hi girls." - said Dani - "Eva, Cris, meet my pen-friend from Ilvermonty, Rubén."

"Nice to meet ya" - he said, smiling at the two girls.

"I'm going to take a shower, d'you girls need anything?"

"I wanted to tell you if you want to help me and Amira with our potions homework, we can't mix more than two ingredients to save our lives." - chirped Eva.

"I'd like to, but I have my Prefect control routine to do in three hours."

"Oh, that's a pity, Amira was so hoping that you could help us..."

Dani blushed a little and scratched a point behind his head - "Well, maybe I could take a look..."

"Oh thank you Dani. I'll join Amira in the Hall to study. Wait for you there. See you later Cris. Bye Rubén, it was a real pleasure to meet you."

Cris rolled her eyes and watched as her friend and Dani took different paths.

"Hey. I'm Dani's sister."

"Yeah, I know, he told me a lot about you."

Cris chuckled, blushing - "Well, if I know him, he has said you no good. And from happened yesterday, you could have had to believe him."

The guy smiled and shrugged - "You're no boring girl, that's for sure." - he said, with its slurred accent - "But as a Texan, I don't like boring girls."

Cris blushed even more and smiled - "Well... I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. Dani told me you helped him to calm that guy down."

"It was nothing. I've known Dani for almost a year now, he's a good fella."

The blonde snorted - "Yeah, whatever."

Rubén laughed - "He wrote to me you always play tough. But deep inside you love him."

"He's a tattler."

"I'm annoying you? Maybe I should shut up"

"Don't worry, I'll take on him."

He lowered his gaze and smiled awkwardly - "Yeah, sorry for him. Listen... Would you like to come with me to Hogsmead? I'd like to visit it but your brother is busy."

_Is that a date? With a gorgeous, older boy... Ok, Soto, play your game, you know how to do it._

"I think it can be arranged. See you in two hours at the gates, the carriage leaves once an hour."

The guy looked at her almost surprised that she had accepted so easily and smiled - "Ok! You'll be my guide."

"Yes, with pleasure."

"It's time for me to shower, see ya in two hours."

Cris was taken by surprise Rubén leaned to kiss her cheek and blushed - "See you later."

Two hours later, running to reach the gates and meet Rubén, Cris ran into someone - "_Cuidado!_"

"Sorry it's just..." - she stopped when she saw the person she had crashed with struggling to pick all the books from the ground - "Oh, hi Joana. I'm sorry I'm in a hurry." - she kneeled to help her - "Some readings you have there, don't you?"

Joana smiled - "Yeah, I had to do some shopping since I came in late. It's not that easy to move from one school to the other, magic or not."

"Yeah, I can imagine." - the blonde heard the strokes of the hour from the Great Tower in the Courtyard - "I'm sorry, I've to go. See you around".

"Thanks for helping me."

Their hands touched briefly when Cris passed the brunette her books and Cris had to suppress the shivers she felt on her back. She quickly retracted her hands and turned back to keep on her way - "Sorry, gotta go. Bye."

...

"And then this guy comes to me and says..." - Rubén stopped - "Cris, I'm boring you?"

Cris came back from her rêverie. She had stopped listening to Rubén to think about those strange feelings pooling at the pit of her stomach - "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just thinking about yesterday evening..." - she lied, smiling sadly a taking a sip of her Butterbeer.

The guy took her hand and Cris had to stop herself from tensing up - "Don't worry, it was an honest mistake. Maybe your brother was too hard on you. And in all honesty, I can't complain about it. If it hadn't passed we wouldn't be here."

_Ok, he's clearly flirting. He's handsome. He's older. Why don't you want to score with him, Soto? What's wrong with you? _

"Cris?"

"Yeah?" - she blushed - "I'm so sorry Rubén."

The guy approached - "It's okay, really. I know it is not nice to be reproached. I've got an older brother who's Mr. Perfection and my parents are always reminding me how perfect he is. Would you like to go back to the Castle? We can come back another day." - _okay, he's basically asking you for a second date, you moron _\- "If you want, that's obvious."

"Oh... sure, why not."

"Okay, let's go." - he insisted on paying their beers and, leaving the "Three Broomsticks", he gave her his cloak because she had started to shiver.

In front of the gates, the two of them came to a stop and paused for a moment - "Well, I should go, I have lessons tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, me too. I mean some kind of a lesson, it will be strange to study far from home."

"Yeah, I can only imagine. It was the same for us at first, but you'll see, Hogwarts is the freaking best."

"Yeah, above all the company." - then, a sigh and a pause - "Can I kiss you?"

Cris chuckled and nodded, leaning to meet his smiling lips. He was sweet. 

_Really sweet. And Merlin, he's good._

He smiled again, turning to take his path - "Goodnight, Cris."

"Goodnight, Rubén."

The two went on different ways and Cris passed a digit on her lips, replaying the kiss once again. But the feeling on the pit of her stomach didn't seem to have vanished.


	5. Crime and Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken."  
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
> 
> “What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”  
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

The next morning, Cris rushed to her _Muggle Studies _class, since she was late, as always. She knocked on the door and waited for the professor to tell her to enter - "I'm sorry professor Cochrane. I didn't know where the classroom was."

"Don't worry Miss..."

"Soto, Cristina Soto."

"Well, Miss Soto, you can go seat over there, there's an empty place at the back of the classroom."

"Thanks."

When she sat down, she noticed the girl next to her was Joana - "Hey."

"_Hola_ Cristina."

"Oh please, just Cris is okay. I think the only ones calling me Cristina are my parents when mad."

Joana smiled - "Ok, _hola _Cris."

"_Hola_. D'you know what we'll be bored about?"

"I think this first class will be about muggle arts. Literature, music and cinema"

"Yeah" - she said, faking enthusiasm.

Before Joana could reply, the professor started to speak - "Well, let's start. I'll give you a sheet for each pair and you'll have to find all the differences and connections between the things written on it".

Mr. Cochrane distributed the sheets with his own hands, without magic - "This is the first step of the project you'll have to work on, then I'll give you other instruction before the end of the class."

Cris watched as Joana leaned on the sheet and crinkled her eyebrows focusing on it, then turned to look at her - "Shall we start?"

The blonde blushed. _Fuck I've been caught staring like a creep _\- "Oh, yes, let's start."

There were sentences, pictures, works of art and short extracts of what the muggles called "movies", but Cris couldn't figure out what exactly the Professor wanted - "I don't understand, what does he want from us? What's all this about?"

"Is there any problem, Miss Soto?" - asked Mr. Cochrane, annoyed by Cris' murmurs.

"No, sir. It's just... I don't think I understood the task."

"Would you care reading something for us out loud, girls?"

Cris chose one of the sentences - the shortest one she could find - and started reading, trying to sound confident - "What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love."

Mr. Cochrane nodded - "Miss Bianchi, care to read another one?"

The raven-haired girl cleared her throat and started to read - “We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken."

"And what are these sentences about?"

"Love" - answered Joana with confidence.

"And what's on that piece of paper?"

"Pictures that don't move and others that move?" - asked Cris.

Joana, next to her, smirked shaking her head. Cris couldn't help but feel annoyed - "I mean... all these sentences and images... They are related to love."

"Yes, Miss Soto. And what else?"

"Well... It's not just people kissing and being happy ever after."

"I think that's a good start to work on."

"But..." - Cris couldn't object anymore, because it was time to go.

"You can go, I expect from you a 2000 words essay about what you see on your sheet, the deadline's in a week."

Joana looked at Cris - "Shall we meet to start working on the project?"

"If you want, next period I'm free."

"Cool. Come with me."

Cris followed Joana through the corridors of the Castle until they got to the lake, under the Great Oak where they had spoken for the first time.

"Hey, what was that about?" - the blonde asked, wondering about that unbearable smirk on the face of Joana when she had answered the Mr.Cochrane's questions.

"What?"

"That smirk."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't want you to think I mocked you. It's just... you clearly underestimated what the things on the paper mean."

"Well, if you're so smart and observant, why don't you tell me what those things are about, know-it-all?"

Joana faced Cris, looking right into her eyes - "That's all about love. But not the typical cheesy love, the one represented in the fairy tales with their happy ending. No... Love is complicated, it often happens between complicated people."

"But what kind of love is that? Love shouldn't hurt".

"No. More often than not, when you love somebody you suffer... You suffer if they ignore you, you are hurt if they're not with you. You suffer when you know you're not good for them and you know you should let it go... In love, you commit the crime, but then you find the punishment itself."

Cris wasn't listening anymore... She was completely lost in the eyes of the mysterious raven-haired girl, with the purple tips and the most piercing eyes she had ever seen.

The thud of something falling in the water interrupted the girls, who were now looking at each other closer and closer.

Joana got up and collected her things - "I'm sorry, I have to go. Won't you care to do some research? I've got most of it covered."

"But we haven't started yet."

"I'm sorry, I forgot I had somewhere else to be. See you in class."

"Bye." - Cris was left there, under the Great Oak, wondering what was the effect that girl had on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I used Joana's words from the sixth clip of the first episode, Las Amistades Peligrosas... It was so inspiring, but I adapted it to the current situation. Hope you liked it.


	6. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love is like Halloween. It's thrilling, makes your heart beat faster, you wait for it throughout the whole year, you enjoy it a lot. But like Halloween, love is scary, it is full of masks, you can receive a lot of candies or none, and even when you eat a lot of them, you end up with your teeth rotten and an awful stomachache.

The next morning, Joana sent Cris a note on a piece of parchment - "I won't be around this week, but I'll be working on our assignment, so we can put it together before the deadline. See you on Friday."

Cris read the note and rolled her eyes. That girl was really weird, but at least she didn't leave her to do all the work by herself, in that case, Cris would have cried. And was it possible "not to be around" in Hogwarts? The girl shrugged and started eating her breakfast, when she felt someone clearing his throat - "Mhh, Cris, hi..."

"Hey Ruben, good morning."

"Listen, I liked visiting Hogsmeade with you... we could hang out these days. And I've heard about the Halloween party, I thought we could go together."

Cris blushed and smiled - "Yeah, I'd like it very much. I could show you around, just ask".

Ruben looked surprised - "Oh wow..."

"What? You thought I would have refused?"

"Well... you didn't seem so interested that night..."

Cris lowered her head and then looked at the boy... _Well, this is awkward _\- "Oh, I'm sorry. It's that I was thinking about the fight with my brother, and the new subject to study... you know?"

"Don't be sorry, I understand. So... I have lessons 'till four, whenever you want I'm free."

"That's perfect. See you later."

The boy kissed her on the cheek and smiled - "See ya later, Cristina."

As soon as the boy was out of sight, Cris heard her friends approaching giggling - "Look who has a handsome guy whipped for her?" - said Eva.

"Yeah Cris, this is why you were so absent these last days!" - added Viri, smirking.

"Please, girls. You know no one can make me that effect. My name's not Eva Villas."

"You bitch, stop lying."

The girls laughed at the girls' antics and Amira shook her head - "Well Cris, you must admit it, you were a bit absent, you spaced out more than once."

"Stop it girls, he's just a nice guy. We could hang out and maybe something more, but please, you know that's not my thing."

"Cris is right, girls, leave her alone. Whenever she will feel ready to tell us, we'll be here."

"There's nothing to tell, Nora. And now, bitches, we should head to McGonagall's lesson."

The girls smirked again and finished their breakfast to join the other students in McGonagall's class.

...

Five days passed by and Cris spent a lot of time with Ruben and the girl really tried to have a good time with him, but there was always something that made her think about something else. She decided to give herself and Ruben one last chance that night and, if nothing happened during the party, she would have said Ruben that it was better if they didn't continue hanging out.

"Hey, there, troublemaker." - Joana's voice made her jolt.

"Joana _la puta que te pariò_, you scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry. How did it go with the assignment?" - the brunette asked, sitting near the great oak, where they decided to meet up to complete the assignment.

"I think well enough. It's not an Outstanding, but I think we'll pass it."

"Oh, please, with that thinker air of yours? I bet it's at least a Exceeds Expectations" - the brunette took Cris' piece of parchment and started reading - "I think Muggles manage to paint and represent all the different sides of the most magical of feelings - love - in a rather magical way, even if they don't know nothing about magic. Love is like Halloween. It's thrilling, makes your heart beat faster, you wait for it throughout the whole year, you enjoy it a lot. But like Halloween, love is scary, it is full of masks, you can receive a lot of candies or none, and even when you eat a lot of them, you end up with your teeth rotten and an awful stomachache. But Muggles don't care about it, and I think they're infinitely braver than us wizards. They can't read your mind, they can't go back in time to make up for their mistakes, they don't know love potions. But they risk it all anyway. And, like Muggle art and literature show, sometimes they end up with rotten teeth and stomachache, but sometimes they simply have their heart full of sweet sensations."

Cris looked expectantly at the other girl - "Well? What do you think? It's that horrible?"

"Are you joking Cris? It's the most incredible metaphor I've ever read about love!"

"Are you serious?"

"For sure! This alone is an outstanding grade! I've written all the historical and artistic things but you, troublemaker, you managed to catch the essence of Muggle art. Goddammit, who's the lucky person?"

Cris blushed and lowered her eyes, heart beating faster and thoughts running through her head - "No one, I'm just a keen observer."

"Well, keen observer, you just signed for the most legendary outstanding Hogwarts has ever seen. Hermione Granger you better beware!"

Cris giggled - "Well, for being a foreigner you know a lot about Hogwarts history."

Joana smirked and changed the subject - "By the way, since we're talking about Halloween, I'll see you at the party after we've finished?"

"Oh yes, and you?"

"I'll be there if you go."

"Yeah, I'll be there with Ruben."

The brunette avoided for a moment the blonde's eyes and took another parchment - "Well, then we'd better get a move. You won't like to be late for Ruben."

Cris' breath caught for a moment in her throat, she thought she had seen a spark of jealousy in Joana's eyes, and her tone alone had been enough to make her shiver. But she let it slip and started writing listening to Joana's suggestions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for next chapter... sparks are waiting


	7. The Lake

Cris looked at the ceiling of the Great Hall and drank another sip from her glass, while her brother and Ruben chatted about some mischief the girl had done when she was younger and couldn't control her magic. The blonde faked some giggle and commented some of her brother's story, smiling at Ruben when he tried to sneak an arm behind her shoulders, but she did nothing more to keep her attention on her "date", because there was a certain raven-haired girl on the other side of the room that she couldn't stop looking at. Joana was talking, or even better FLIRTING, with a girl from Ilvermonty who chuckled every time she said something. It was so annoying. The way the redhead got closer to Joana with every word, they way Joana stroke her freckled cheek with her thumb, her smirk because she knew the girl was head-over-the-heels about her... Then, Joana looked at her and smirked once more, winking at the redhead, just to annoy her. _Hija de puta, she's doing it on purpose._

"Cris, d'you want something more to drink?"

Ruben's words took Cris out of her reverie and she smiled, taking his hand - "Yes, let's go."

The blonde walked with Ruben to a more hidden place, just casually closer to the spot where Joana and "Anne Shirley" were. 

"Cris, the drinks are over there..."

"Well, maybe I just wanted to avoid my protective brother's gaze while I kiss you".

The guy smiled and got closer and closer - "Well, aren't you one hella clever girl..."

"Yeah, a really clever girl, who'd like to talk less."

The two of them kissed and Cris looked at the raven-haired girl, who was looking at her with something strange in her eyes... Jealousy maybe? Cris smiled in the kiss and Ruben stopped it.

"Well, and here I was thinking you weren't interested in me."

"Well, you were wrong."

"I'm happy to hear it."

Cris looked at the other girl out of the corner of her eye and got really annoyed the moment she saw Joana kissing the redhead.

_Fuck. Well, you want it, Joana._

From that moment on, the two started a competition, looking at each other kissing another person... Until Cris saw Joana taking the other girl by the hand, through the doors of the Great Hall. 

"Cris, don't you think it's a bit strange for your brother here?"

"Yeah, you're right. Come with me."

Cris sighed and took Ruben with her to another place, a spot where young couples could intimate.

The things got heated quickly, but when Ruben's hands touched her above the clothes, she stopped him.

"What's happening? Is something wrong?" - asked Ruben, worried.

"No no... It's just that... sorry, Ruben, I can't. I have to go."

The blonde ran away through the corridors and she crushed with Joana and the redhead, running even faster. 

She didn't know how, but she got to the lake and sat by the Great Oak, crying.

"Hey, troublemaker, what's wrong?"

The blonde jolted and dried the tears on her cheeks - "Fuck, you scared me!"

"I'm sorry, you don't seem one to be scared so easily. With all that going through dark alleys and corridors."

"It's not your concern the dark alleys I go through" - she answered annoyed.

"Hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

"Why don't you go back to your Anne Shirley?!"

"Are you jealous, troublemaker?"

"No, I just thought you had something better to do."

"Well, here I am, ain't I?"

"Well, that was quick, who would have said?"

"Well, you have a lot to say about my sexual activity..."

"I have nothing to say about nothing, could you leave me alone?"

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

This was the last straw for Cris... All those looks, all those confusing words, the almost kiss, the flirting... She blew up.

"You know what? I'm not okay! Do you like playing with me? Talking about love, looking at me like I was the one you wanna be with, then leaving me hanging..."

"You're the one who came to the party with Ruben!"

"Well, if you had had the _cojones _to ask me out, I would have come with you, _idiota_!"

Joana seemed taken aback and sighed - "You think you're the only one confused in here? I am too, Cris."

"Confused?"

"Yes, confused."

"But you were with a girl before..."

"I'm not talking about that, I've known I'm bi since I'm 13."

"And what are you talking about?"

"I can't tell you."

"What?"

The dark-haired girl sighed and put her hands in her head, through her hair - "Cris, I know I can be a bit strange sometimes... but don't push me."

"And what should I do? Wait for you to take a step? Looking at you kissing others and then cry?"

"Well, you didn't exactly play Saint!"

Cris got up and got closer to Joana - "You're no one to tell me that!"

"Well, tell that to the guy you were kissing to make me jealous!"

Cris saw red and, without thinking about it, she pushed Joana in the lake - "Well, now I should really go, maybe the cold water will help you sort things out!"

"Cris, fuck! The water's freezing! Help me get out."

"I wanted to go tell that thing to the guy I was kissing before."

"First help me out, then you can go wherever you want."

Cris took pity on the girl shivering and extended her arm to help her, but the other one pulled her in, so the two of them were now soaked wet.

"You motherfucker, this is what you do to someone who wants to help you out?"

"Well, you pushed me in here for starting, so we're even."

"We should head out."

"Nah, since we're here, we could explore the lake."

"Are you crazy? It's dark, there could be a lot of creatures in here."

"What's that smell? Fear, troublemaker?" - she produced a Bubble-Head Charm around her mouth and nose and dived deep in the Lake.

"Me? Fear? You don't know who you're talking about, New Girl."

She mirrored Joana's action and went behind her. 

_Lumos!_

The two swam around, the creatures looking at them curiously, making them laugh... Then, they looked at each other's eyes. And something like Magic seemed to happen. Their hair floated around their heads like halos, the girls looked like mermaids and magical creatures themselves... Joana kissed her and the charm broke, leaving them without air, forced to return to the surface. 

"Are you trying to kill us?"

"What's up, you can't keep your breath underwater?"

"I wasn't ready!"

"Well, then let's try again!"

They both dived once again, looking at each other with a playful challenge in their eyes... 

_Fuck, if she thinks she can play with me, she's wrong _\- Cris thought, and gave a wide stroke to get closer to Joana and kiss her. They got to the surface once again and kept on kissing for a while, among giggles, until they heard the Keeper coming their way, maybe alerted by Joana's shriek when Cris had pushed her.

"Fuck." - cursed Cris, trying to hide.

"Come with me, I know a place" - said Joana, leading her away from the light of Hagrid's lantern.


	8. Something new

Cris couldn't believe the things happening to her. She could feel the sparks radiating from the tips of Joana's hand holding her while they were running through the secret corridors of Hogwarts. She could feel her jaw hurting from the smile she couldn't help, some strange feeling at the pit of her stomach, her heart racing in her ribcage. This was clearly something new for her, she had never experienced it. 

Once at the end of the corridor, they came to a stop in front of a medieval tapestry.

"Well, what now?" - asked Cris, out of breath.

"Shhh, I'll show you something." - Joana closed her eyes and, suddenly, a door appeared on the wall.

"What the fuck?" - Cris followed Joana in the room - "Joana, I thought the Room of Requirement had burnt down during the Battle of Hogwarts!"

"Well, apparently the Castle thought I needed it."

"What for?"

Joana smirked sadly and avoided the question - "To think about the beautiful blonde with braids, that I had noticed since the first time I had seen her."

Cris blushed and lowered her gaze - "Well, it took you long enough to show this famous blonde that you liked her."

"Better late than never, don't you know?"

"Sometimes I don't even know what you're talking about..."

"It's a Muggle saying."

"I see, know-it-all... Don't have Muggles a saying about making up for lost time?" - the blonde got closer to the other girl and linked her wrists around her neck.

"Even if it didn't exist, I think I would certainly say it for the first time."

The two of them kissed once again, this time slower, and suddenly a King-sized bed materialized behind them. Cris blushed once again and Joana noticed it.

"I'm sorry, Cris. I swear, I'm okay with just sleeping or simply going to bed... I mean, separately."

"It's not that I don't want to... It's just..." - she sat on the bed and lowered her head, once again - "I've never done it... with a girl, you know."

Joana joined her and put the index finger under her chin to look into her eyes - "Cris, it's okay. We've just met. If you want to go to your bed, we'll go."

The blonde sighed and collected all the courage she had - "Maybe we could... just sleep. You think that's okay?"

"More than okay, troublemaker." - the brunette smiled.

The two discarded their damped clothes (which readily dried) and the room provided them with two simple white t-shirts and two pairs of shorts. When they laid down, Cris started to feel something new... again. This something was a mixture of insecurities, bravery and tenderness. This was the first time she laid with someone just for the sake of looking into the other's eyes, the first time she wanted to simply cuddle, not going beyond kisses, the first time she slept with someone, with Joana's arm around her waist and their fingers linked. 

And like everything new, like the unknown, like Halloween... it was scary.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first AU fanfic I write, I hope you'll like it. I like to think that in Hogwarts there are also students from other countries and, since it was more logical for people from Spain to go to Beauxbatons, I had to think about a reason to put our beloved heroes in Hogwarts. I'm going on holiday for 10 days, so I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait some time. Don't worry, I'll keep thinking about how this will go on.


End file.
